The Process of Belief
by SapphireMind
Summary: The Joes try and deal with an enemy more horrifying than they ever could have imagined.
1. I

Ok, this work requires a few more disclaimers than usual.

First: Not intending to steal anything from Hasbro, Devil's Due or anyone else, I'm not making any money and this is just a creative outlet for me.  The title belongs to Bad Religion, it just seemed to fit, so apologies to them too!

Second: Any resemblance to any actual politician, situation or illegal action is purely coincidental and likely they only see it as a result of their own guilty conscience.

Third: To my readers. This is my creative outlet for the current situation in our country. If you drink kool-aid, you will **not** like this story, and I highly suggest you skip it. If you laughed at that statement because you know what I meant, read on. If you were confused by that and/or are indignant, go back to watching Fox News. Don't worry, this is all just an unpleasant dream, keep drinking that kool-aid and all will be well. Flame if you want, but last I checked, I still retain my right to free speech and press. Use the review system, not the Patriot Act to show your displeasure with my writing.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Being a part of America's elite anti-terrorism force wasn't easy on most days, but lately it had been even more difficult than usual. It seemed that with the current situation in the Middle East, they were not getting any room to breathe whatsoever. It wasn't any easier that they had been gone public with the operation.

Hawk and Duke had fought against going public with the team and what they did, but forces higher than them were convinced that the American public would feel safer if they knew the Joes were out there protecting them.

And protect them they did. A week wasn't going by without some new threat. Sometimes it was a minor annoyance, but they all needed attention. The media was all over the situation, having this squad of misfits who hadn't existed two years prior, were now the saviors of everyday America.

Duke was ready to have a breakdown, between the near constant military assaults, he also had to deal with the rapidly expanding egos of his team. They weren't famed for their modesty prior to this, but with the fan clubs that had sprung up in the wake of them going public, it was near impossible to deal with some of them. Flint and Lady Jaye were on the rocks, Shipwreck was useless except for publicity functions and he didn't want to know what the guys in the motor pool were doing with their new found fame.

Scarlett and Cover Girl had both become more withdrawn to avoid the media, though for vastly different reasons. Scarlett hated the attention on her and the focus on her being a woman; an impediment to her credibility. Cover Girl was hiding because she left the modeling world for a reason and they seemed determined to drag her back into it. She was constantly sought after because she was the only Joe with a very public life before enlisting. She was tired of the attitudes of the media and just was still burnt-out on that whole segment of society.

Duke again cursed the officials that made the final call to publicize the team, but then settled into the work at hand. He couldn't figure out why Cobra was quite so busy. The United States was engaged in a war in the Middle East, but the stunts they had been pulling lately seemed to be almost diversionary in nature and he wanted to find out what they were really up to.

He looked over the map of the states, dotted with multi-colored pushpins, trying to discern a pattern. There were pins for confirmed activity, for suspected activity, successfully defeated and places where the snakes had gotten the jump on them.

It was like someone had dipped a toothbrush in paint and sprayed it onto the map. There was no rhyme or reason for any of it. They hit some big cities, but inexplicably, they were also hitting incredibly small towns that seemed to have no purpose but to scare people. Many times they received intelligence to be able to thwart the attack, so all they had to do was pose for the newspaper pictures, but he was sure there was some over-reaching reason for this pattern.

A knock on his door roused him from his concentration. Flint poked his head in, "Got a report on a suspicious white substance at the statehouse in Virginia, who do you want to send."

Duke groaned, "Why are they requesting us? That's a job for USAMRIID or the CDC¹. There's nothing we can accomplish really."

Flint shrugged, "They want us to interview some of the people and be there to reassure the citizens." Duke just groaned. They were a military Special Forces unit, and now they were holding politicians hands because they got scared by chalk dust. Flint read his expression and said sympathetically, "I agree, Top. This is starting to get ridiculous."

"How do they expect us to stop the root of the problem if they keep us running around the rest of the country to pose for the newspaper?" Duke clenched his fist in frustration.

"Scarlett's been riding that pretty hard, right?"

"Yeah. Anything to avoid going into the field."

Flint laughed, "I cannot believe that Scarlett is actually avoiding the field."

"She's really bugged by the publicity and the rumors around her. There's been all sorts of rumors flying about her and her history," Duke reminded Flint. "She doesn't like that kind of attention. Says it makes her job harder."

"It makes all our jobs harder," Flint remarked dryly. He tactfully ignored the fact that many of the current stories involved speculations regarding her relationship with his friend.

Duke sighed, "I know. I'll talk to Hawk about trying to get something done. We can't go on like this." He sighed again, "Send Lifeline and Jaye. It's her turn to deal with the media."

Flint's jaw tightened perceptibly when Duke mentioned his on-again, off-again girlfriend. He didn't like the way she had easily adjusted to their new role and felt like she was slipping away from him, back to her old life, while she felt he was getting too much attention from his fan club and he was enjoying it too much. "Fine," he said tautly. He closed the door to Duke's office and made his way to the quarters Lady Jaye shared with Scarlett.

He knocked at the door and Scarlett answered. He arched his brow at her. "Since when do you wear glasses?" She looked surprised and guiltily removed them. Unlike Jaye who seemed to be thriving under the situation, Scarlett seemed to be trying to turn into a librarian. Her uniform, which used to be a hit with the men on the team, had been replaced with a much more conservative black t-shirt and camo pants. And now she wore a pair of ugly military issue glasses that male soldiers had nicknamed "birth control glasses", because you couldn't get laid while wearing them.

"Eyestrain. I've got a lot of things I'm reading through," she said defensively. "What do you want?" She eyed him appraisingly; Jaye wasn't happy with him right now.

"Relax, Red. I'm just passing along a message that Jaye has an assignment. She and Doc need to leave for Virginia ASAP."

Scarlett's eyebrow's furrowed, "What's going on?"

"Hand-holding in Virginia statehouse, white powder found." His voice reflected the annoyance he voiced to Duke earlier and Scarlett of course picked up and nodded sympathetically.

"I'll tell her." Flint nodded and she shut the door. She quickly went to her reports, to add in this newest feint by Cobra.

She wasn't sure if it was all Cobra behind these acts, if they were working in concert with another group, or just taking advantage of the paranoia and any bad occurrence they heard about. Something just wasn't right, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She called absently to Jaye, "Flint stopped by," Jaye's head immediately popped out of her room, "He said to tell you that you have an assignment."

She sighed with disappointment, "He didn't even want to talk?"

"Why would he? You two have been at each others' throats at every opportunity lately it seems." She looked at her friend with annoyance, "You need to have a long talk with him, when you're not running off to some assignment or another."

"When does that happen anymore?" Lady Jaye said bitterly as she returned to her room to change into her Class As. "They have us running around at the slightest whimper of fear," she called through her door.

Despite her ease with her current job, this wasn't why she went into the military. Flint refused to accept her explanation that she was just playing the part and seemed to be convinced that she wanted out and so to pay her back was spending entirely too much attention to his fan club. My God, the man had an honest-to-God fan club! She shuddered to think of the fifteen year-old girls mooning over his picture. "He's old enough to be their father," she muttered angrily as she buttoned her blouse.

"What was that?" Scarlett's voice wafted through the wood.

"Nothing. Just talking to myself." She emerged from her room, looking polished and professional. "You sure you don't want to take over?" Jaye batted her eyes at her roommate.

"No way Jose!" She shook her head for extra emphasis. "I'm counter-intelligence, remember?" She tapped the maps and reports, "This is what I'm supposed to be doing."

"You seem to be the only one actually getting to do her job. Sleeping with the CO has its benefits." Jaye regretted her words the moment they were out of her mouth. Scarlett had paled and shot her a murderous glare. It was things like her relationship with Duke that the media had been exploiting. They were all saying she had slept her way to where she was, totally ignoring her skills and only looking at her body and her relationship with Duke. It used to be that they could tease each other about such things, but that no longer was the case.

"I'm sorry, Shana, I didn't mean it like that." The apology was weak, but Scarlett nodded tersely and after a few moments of silence, Jaye walked out of their quarters to find out the details on her assignment.

¹USAMRIID stands for US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the CDC is the Centers for Disease Control.   


	2. II

A/N: Again, I am very certain that Hasbro does not approve or endorse my use of their characters. Especially with this story.

Thank you for the reviews so far. I am surprised that no one seems to totally get where I'm going so far. I thought I was making it entirely too obvious :D Guess not.

O o o o o o o o o o o o O

Lady Jaye stepped up to the podium, holding up her hands. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, you know the drill." Generalized murmurs of assent replied and she continued, "I will be making a short statement, we will have a _limited_ Q&A, and I cannot emphasize limited enough." She met the gaze of many of the reporters, then cleared her throat for her speech.

"An unknown substance was found at the statehouse here and officials decided to err on the side of caution and call it into Homeland Security. The powder was _not_ distributed at all, no one is ill and there is no danger to the population. The CDC and USAMRIID are working on identifying the material and cooperating fully with law enforcement agencies, if nothing else to press criminal mischief charges. I reiterate: _There are no reported illnesses, symptoms or contaminations in conjunction with this._ I will now take your questions." An older brunette woman's hand shot into the air and Jaye pointed to her, "Yes Marie?" One of the things that Flint bitched about was the fact that she was giving so many press conferences, she had begun to learn their names.

"Thank you, Lady Jaye. Why was a team from G.I. Joe called in? Doesn't that mean that there is something more sinister behind this?"

"We have been dispatched as a precaution, because if there are any problems, we will be able to quickly handle them." The words slipped off her tongue easily, glossing over the truth that the politicians were just cowards. Another hand immediately raised high and she acknowledged the silver haired man.

"We've heard that this substance is the deadly poison Ricin. Is there any truth to that report? And how soon will we know for sure?" He spoke quickly, hoping to get all the words out before she cut him off.

She smirked at him and shook her head, "Now Brian, you know I'm not allowed to comment on that. The scientists themselves don't know yet; it's just been collected. I assure you though that they are taking every precaution and will determine the makeup of the powder quickly."

A younger woman with black hair stood in the back, yelling without waiting to be acknowledged, "Why has the terrorist activity been climbing so much lately? What is being done to keep the American people safe?"

This was a question that nagged Jaye's brain late at night; why _was_ everything picking up now? She shrugged, "They are mentally unstable and they hate our freedom. That's why we fight them every step of the way." She quoted almost verbatim the so-called "party-line" about the situation, which nagged at her unpleasantly. The young woman accepted the answer though.

"Excuse me!" Another reporter decided to forgo waiting to be called on, this time a young man towards the back. "Can you comment on the illegal fraternization going on in your unit? Is the military continuing-"

Jaye cut him off quickly with a murderous glare and a sharp hand gesture, "This session is done. Good day."

As she walked off the platform, she could hear him call after her, "Isn't it true that Scarlett had an illicit affair with Hawk as well, and that's why she's on the team?"

She shook her head and slammed the door violently behind her. She understood why Scarlett didn't want to come to the press conferences.

O o o o o o o o o o o O

"Any luck, Red?" Shipwreck was looking over her shoulder, eating a sandwich loudly.

She pursed her lips. "Maybe. I'm trying to look into some of the more abstract connections." She flipped through papers, frowned, flipped back to where she was, then back again to her new spot. "Odd."

Shipwreck looked at her expectantly, prodding her with his arm when she didn't elucidate. "What's odd?"

"Nothing." Her brow was still furrowed as she continued to leaf through her papers. "Don't sweat it." She flashed him a smile, looking at an envelope that had gotten lodged in one of her files. It was simply addressed to "Shana". A corner of a smile came to her face, thinking it was a surprise from Duke.

She flipped it over, neatly slitting one end and blowing into the pocket, enabling her to slide the information out easily. It was two handwritten pages, and it seemed to be a piece of fan mail.

_Dear Shana,_

_I am such a fan of your work. You seem like such an intelligent woman, like that woman in "National Treasure". I loved that movie. Have you seen it? You should. It has a lot of good information in it. _

_I would love to meet you sometime, though I'm sure your job keeps you very busy. It's amazing, how much has been going on lately. I truly think that you can put a stop to it, if you think about it enough. I wish I could help, but I'm just a nobody._

_But I do think you are amazing. I think you could break any puzzle, if given even subtle clues. Clues are everywhere in the world I think, you just have to figure out what puzzle they belong to._

_Thanks for reading my letter. I would appreciate it if this stayed between us, I'm very shy about people knowing that I'm writing to you; it could get me in big trouble. (I hear wives frown on this sort of thing)_

_Someday maybe we could meet and have iced tea by a roaring fire and you can tell me all about your work, and I can tell you all about mine. Please be safe out there. _

_Signed,_

_A fan_

She read and reread the letter; it was very strange in its topics and flow. She had seen "National Treasure", it was fun, but nothing that special. She absently tucked the letter in her vest, continuing to try and track down the source of this mayhem.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

She thought of the letter again later that night while she was in her living room, enjoying the time to herself because her roommate was still in Virginia. Duke had duty tonight, so she didn't expect to see him either, just her and her research.

She took it out of her vest, reading it again. It was very odd, and how did it get on base without going through normal channels? She let her mind wander a bit, then an idea occurred to her. "No way," she said aloud with a grin. She began to think that maybe it was from Duke after all; they had gone to see the movie together. She grinned slyly as she chuckled, pulling out her iron. She doubted he would have gone to the trouble of any other agents, so the iron should be all she needed.

The mention of the movie and insistence that clues were everywhere made her think that perhaps on the letter was a hidden message, using the old lemon juice trick. She turned the iron on, waiting for it to heat up. If Jaye came home, she would think Shana was nuts, ironing the mail.

After the iron had heated, she carefully applied it to the paper, her grin widening when she saw the tell-tale faint brown markings that showed that it had been treated with lemon juice. She resisted the urge to read it as bits and pieces became visible, instead flopping into a chair to read her love letter once it was fully revealed.

_I have information you need. Don't look at the events, look at the time. _

_Tell no one of what you discover. I don't know how high this goes. "Trust no one." Call 555-3647 from a secure line when you know._

_Memo_

Her eyes widened as she scanned the words. This definitely wasn't Duke's style. 'Memo'? What was that supposed to mean and what was she supposed to know? She frowned, rereading the letter, wondering how such a person who was coming up with this could get it on base.

She considered for a moment, then decided, just to be safe, she would follow up on the concerns of the man. She grabbed a date of an attack, plunking it into google on her laptop, seeing what she came up with. Random crap really, with a few news stories on the attempted car bombing. She clicked on one, scanning the text quickly, frowning when nothing caught her eye.

Wrinkling her nose, she inputted another date, again getting similar random flotsam and news stories. Once more she clicked on the news stories and scanned it quickly. Her eye caught on something, nothing really alone, but she remembered something similar for the other date. She quickly chose several other dates, pulling up news stories, becoming increasingly disturbed by the implication that was becoming clear to her.

She grabbed her phone, dialing the number on the note. She heard a gravelly voice answer, "Shana."

"You can't be insinuating what I think you are insinuating," she said with no preamble, her mind whirling around the stories, unmindful of the time, or the fact that nearly four hours had passed since her first realization that the note could be more than it appeared.

"I wish I wasn't. I have proof." The man sighed and seemed almost genuinely disappointed. "Memos. Records. Money trails. There's more than you could ever imagine."

"I don't believe you," she scoffed. "Show me the proof."

He inhaled, "I want to. You know where the Wal-mart on 164th is?" He heard a muttered affirmative and continued, "Meet me there in an hour."

She couldn't help but laugh, "We're meeting in a Wal-mart for a classified meeting? You have got to be kidding me."

"It's open and I don't think anything can happen to us if we stay in public enough. Hide all your material. Do not let anyone know what you have found or about me."

"No way buddy, that's not the way we work here in the Army." She sounded skeptical again. She had no way to know who this was and what his agenda was.

He seemed frustrated and scared, "Do you understand that if they find out that I'm talking to you, my life is worth nothing? I trust you could beat me if I wanted to do anything. Please, Shana. If I'm right, this is important and I've seen what the media has been trying to do to you lately. Do you think that isn't related? This all ties together. Please."

Shana pondered the thought for a moment. The rational side of her knew this was a stupid idea, but the curious and worried half was very concerned that his claims might have a grain of truth. "Alright. I'll be there." She hung up the phone and went to her bedroom, pulling on a pair of jeans and gray shirt. She put a handkerchief over her head, then pulled on a black hooded sweatshirt over top of it all.

As she touched her hand to the door handle, she heard a knock and jumped, chuckling uneasily at her paranoia. Opening the door, she saw the blonde First Sergeant for the unit.

"Where you off to, beautiful?" He smiled gently, taking her into his arms for a hug.

"Just running out, couldn't sleep." She lied to him easily, ignoring the guilty twinge in her chest. "Are you already off?"

"Already? I've been on since 1900 last night!" He noted her vague expression and clarified, "It's nearly 0400 now. Where are you going at this time of night?"

She chuckled, "Wal-Mart, what else is open at this hour?"

He laughed as well, kissing her softly, "Want some company?" It might have been his imagination, but he thought she tensed in his hands just slightly.

"Nah, I'm going to be doing boring girly type shopping." She gave him a quick peck on the lips, "I'll be back later and stop by and show you what I got." She winked, kissing him once more.

"Alright," he said grudgingly, "But wake me up when you get back, ok?"

"Will do." He grabbed her for one last kiss, then she nearly jogged down the corridor, off to her rendezvous at Wal-Mart.


	3. III

AN: I am still alive! Drowning in my statistics class a touch this quarter, but I only have to get a C in that one, Thank God. Here's another chapter. This went through several incarnations, some being radically different than this, but I hope you enjoy it. Go see V for Vendetta, there are complimentary themes. :D

O o o o o o o o o o O

A man sat in front of a bank of monitors, the room darkened and his only source of light was the grey flickering that came from the screens and other equipment in the room. A small, unobtrusive alarm sounded and he looked over at a light. "Subject 84 is on the move."

His partner looked up from the magazine he was reading. "Really? Where's he going?"

"Not sure yet. Looks like he's heading for the freeway. What was his activity today?" The pudgy bald man's heart started beating faster, maybe this was the break he was looking for.

His partner, a lean man in a nearly identical black suit slid over to a computer, pulling up some information with only a few easy keystrokes. "He was out at a Wal-Mart on 164th earlier today, that's about all."

The pudgy man sighed, "Looks like he forgot to get something, he's heading back there."

"At this hour of the morning?" The lean man questioned half-heartedly.

"He probably does just need to get something before he goes in for work. We can watch though, but you're probably right about - …" He was cut off as the quiet alarm rang again. "Ooo! 43 is out too!"

"I bet he's going to that intern's house," both men laughed and their minds were temporarily taken off of Subject 84.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Shana drove quickly to the place where she was supposed to meet the "Memo" from her letter. Something niggled at the back of her mind as being vaguely familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on what exactly. It wasn't giving her a bad feeling, so for now, she kept with her plan.

When she arrived at the Wal-Mart, she took a few passes first around the block, then the parking lot, looking for anything unusual, scouting for snipers or anything else that might indicate that this was a Cobra trap. After a half hour, she had reasonably assured herself that the situation was safe and she parked her jeep.

She walked into the store, not knowing exactly who she was going to meet, still wanting to scope out the situation a bit. She made a lap around the outer aisles of the store, looking for anything suspicious or any sign that someone was following her. As she moved by the front service counter, she heard a woman's voice call out to her.

"Diane?" The woman's hesitant and surprised voice sent a shock through Shana's spine. Diane was the last alias she had used in a mission. She turned and looked at the source of the voice, a young woman behind the customer service counter with short brown hair and glasses.

Shana put on a smile and look of puzzlement, "Hi. Do I know you?" She was suspicious as this was not even the state in which she had used that alias. It could be a coincidence, but she had a sneaking feeling that it wasn't.

The woman smile congenially and shook her head. "No, I just thought I recognized you from the picture and thought I'd take a chance. I'm so glad I saw you and boy, you will be too!"

The puzzlement on Shana's face was real as she cautiously walked closer to the counter. "What picture?"

Chuckling, the woman bent down behind the counter quickly and Shana's hand tightened around the gun, flipping the safety off. The woman popped back up and just bore a keychain with one key on it.

The keychain had a plexi-glass photo holder attached to it and another chain to attach it to another ring that looked broken. There was only one key on the remaining ring, clearly not a key to a house or car. Her mouth gaped open when the picture spun around and she saw her own face!

It was a picture of her and Conrad, smiling at each other and not looking at the camera at all. She tried to figure out where the picture was taken as she spoke bland pleasantries to the woman behind the counter and took the keychain, flipping the safety back onto the gun at the same time.

Apparently the keychain was turned in about an hour ago. The clerks assumed it had broken off a keychain when it was dropped off. The back of the picture was only labeled with two names, "Diane and Howie", and the year. Howie was a name Conrad had used before on missions, playing on his last name. The clerk figured there would be no way to find the owner, based on just first names and a picture, but then, Shana had walked by and she found her 'Diane'.

Clearly, this was no coincidence and this had all been set up for her. She glanced around again surreptitiously, but saw no one taking an interest in the exchange at the desk. She thanked the clerk, took the keychain and began walking through the store again, more slowly this time.

As she walked, she realized where the picture had been taken. It was from the PITT, from one of the inner courtyards. Whoever was contacting her was subtly letting her know just how far his reach was, between knowing her missions, ability to get things onto base and now having secret photos of her and Conrad.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Pudgy looked over at his screen for a moment, "Hey. 84 is still out."

Lean shrugged, "Maybe he ran into a friend. Or is getting stuff for his garden. 84 is a huge gardener and tends to work on it early in the morning."

"Or maybe not! Maybe we should send a team!" Sweat was beading on the man's greasy forehead as he was anxiously looking over his screens.

Lean rolled his eyes, he had been through too many false alarms. "Send a team, but I doubt it is anything. They can check it out and then let us know if anything else is needed." He eyed his partner with annoyance. The man had delusions of greatness and seriously thought this surveillance mission would pan out with a major break.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o O

As Shana passed by the electronics section in the back, a sudden burst of loud music drew her attention and her hand moved back to her gun. She saw a man by a display of stereos who was wearing a dark baseball cap, jeans and a sweatshirt. Turning the safety off again, Shana moved closer.

"Memo!" The man hissed to her quietly.

Her suspicions confirmed, she turned her back on him to browse through the CDs on display. "What the fuck is going on?" Her voice was a low whisper. She kept the safety off.

"Shana. It's me." They both turned quickly to face each other and Shana realized she recognized the face. In college, she had been friends and briefly dated a guy named Geoff Bishop, who was studying political science. She knew he worked in the White House, but she hadn't spoken to him for nearly six years.

"Geoff?" In her shock, she used his real name.

He turned away from her quickly, while muttering, "Use Memo. It's safer."

"Safer for what? What's going on?" Confusion now swirled around her head. She began to wonder if she was caught up in an old friend's paranoid delusion.

"I can't be sure they don't have people here or some sort of tracking device on my car. But my time is up and I have to tell someone."

"Tell me what?" She had resumed her intent search through the CDs, but her mind was working overtime to try and figure out what exactly was going on.

"About what's going on in this country! You found what I sent you?" His raspy, whispering voice had an air of impatience and out of the corner of her eye, she could see him skittishly scanning the store.

"It can't be true." She spoke quietly and matter-of-factly, trying to keep her eyes open and aware for any possible observers.

A bitter laugh escaped her old friend, "It can't be, but yet it is."

Lips pursed in thought, she replied, "Do you have proof?"

"No, but you do now. Inside that locker there is proof." He lightly nudged her with the bottom of his foot and she noted a man walking down the aisle who appeared to be trying to nonchalantly talk into his cuff. "They're here." He risked a look at Shana, speaking with a pleading tone of voice, "It's not enough. If I just go to the press, they'll debunk it, or bury it all together. I need more. I need help. Is your car registered in your name?"

"Of course not. It's non-traceable." She didn't know whether he was telling the truth or not, but those men were definitely looking for someone. She pulled the hood of her jacket further down to better obscure her appearance.

Memo nodded. "We need to get out of here, now." The men were getting closer and she could see panic in his eyes.

"There's access to the back three aisles over. Don't run until they do. Got it?" She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye and began carefully moving towards the back. Shana could see Memo following slowly behind her and then the door in front of her, leading to the back of the store and then to the outdoors. She breathed a sigh of relief, thinking maybe that they would get all the way out there without being spotted. As her hand touched the door though, she felt Memo push up against her.

"They've seen us. Run!" The two of them broke into a run, heading for the glowing red exit sign, but trying to stay covered with the giant shelves of backstock.

"FREEZE!" A male's voice barked to them as they kept running. "Department of Homeland Security!"

She only hesitated for a moment before continuing to lead Memo through the aisles of boxes, trying to stay out of sight. There was a clang as a bullet hit the metal shelving. They were close to the door though, just a few more feet and then they could maybe lose at least one of their pursuers.

Shana pushed towards the door, dragging Memo with her, intent on reaching the door. Two more shots rang out and she heard a groan behind her. Memo, Geoff, her friend, had been hit. Her gun was drawn in an instant as she looked him over. It wasn't good, he had been shot in the chest and there were bubbles of blood coming out of wound, indicating a sucking chest wound. If he didn't get medical attention quickly, he would die.

"Don't," he said quickly and desperately, knowing her first instinct would be to return fire and stay with him. "Get out, just run!" She could hear the pain and fear in his voice and she was torn. She didn't know how many agents were actually present and was still confused as to what was going on exactly, but she couldn't just leave a man behind. She didn't move for a moment, then he repeated as more shots were fired, "GO!"

"I'm sorry," she said it quietly to him, and then took off in a sprint, exiting through the door that screamed in protest of someone leaving without having disengaged the alarm. She could hear the sounds of the store employees rushing into the storeroom in response to the alarm. Shana tried to keep low and move in a zig-zag, random fashion to make it more difficult for anyone to hit her with any of the other shots she heard ringing out behind her, mingled with the screams of someone from the store, caught unaware by the sudden barrage of gunfire.

She made it out the back and kept moving as fast as she could around the side, using the building for cover and grabbing her keys to have them ready. As she reached her car, a shot starred the glass in front of her, clearly the man in back's partner was waiting for her out here. She dove into the car, starting it and flooring the gas pedal.

Shana raced out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell, watching her mirrors obsessively, trying to make sure no one was following her. She was in shock; Geoff was Memo. Memo was shot. Memo…gave her a key. She pulled it out quickly to look at it and try and figure out exactly where this locker was.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

"We have Subject 84, sir," one of the men in the store reported over their cell phone. "He's in bad shape. We had to shoot him to keep him from getting away with the other one." The man's faced winced as he endured the reaction of the person on the phone with him. "Yes sir. I believe one got away." More yelling on the other side, "They did get away, sir," the man unhappily acknowledged. "We don't know, sir. We don't even know if it was a man or woman yet, but we'll find them." More angry words were shouted into the man's ear, "Cleanup has already begun. Don't worry, it will stay quiet, we'll make sure of it."


	4. IV

Scarlett gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to get control of herself and the situation. Once she had started driving, instinct kicked in and she easily lost her less experienced pursuer. Now she was sitting in the garage at the PITT and trying to figure out just what exactly happened.

Geoff, someone she had known back in college, had information about the recent terrorist attacks and had been killed for it. _'Freeze! Department of Homeland Security!'_ kept ringing in her ears. She shouldn't have run from them; they were on her side, right? But they also shouldn't have been shooting at her, especially not in a public situation. They were prepared to use deadly force to stop Geoff from speaking to her, without even knowing who she was.

She pulled out the key that he had indirectly given her. It looked like a locker key, but to what locker? He hadn't had a chance to tell her that. One thing was for sure, she needed to find out what was in the locker. If he was wrong, crazy or on the wrong side, she could turn the information in and settle the matter. If he was right…that was the far more unsettling option. If even half of what he had told her was true, she was in deep, possibly over her head.

Scarlett looked up finally. She couldn't sit here forever, she had work to get done and tracks to cover. Slipping the key back into her pocket, she stepped out of the car, pulling the handkerchief off her hair and stripping off the bloodied sweatshirt as well as she went.

Mutt was already getting a start to his day and she flagged him down. "Hey Mutt, how's it going?" Ever the actress, Scarlett didn't let on at all that there was anything wrong.

"Not bad, how about yourself? What brings you over here so early this morning?" Mutt replied amiably, scratching Junkyard's head as he spoke.

"Well, I just got some intel that one of our 'company cars' got marked. It's going to need to be scrapped." She smiled at the man in front of her as she spoke, knowing what he was hoping for, "Of course, parts are fair game. Body just needs to go." She gave him the information on how to find the car she was driving this morning.

"Hot damn. You have made my day. I have been dying for some new spare parts," Mutt exclaimed.

Scarlett laughed, "You know, you could get the parts new…"

He shook his head vehemently, "It's not the same. There's something about being able to strip the car down yourself that makes the whole thing better."

With a grin, Scarlett turned and waved, "Glad to have made your day, I've gotta run!" Once she was away from Mutt's line of vision, her face set in a grim line. She had a few more chores to complete before she could return to bed.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Scarlett's next stop was down in the basement where the gadgets and techies hid, the 'dungeon' as it was fondly nicknamed. They had a certain gadget she wanted to use in particular.

Often, when they went on missions, they needed to cut down on the metal they were carrying. Either because of magnetic presence, or simple things like metal detectors. Because of this, they had a machine that made copies of key, from metal to plastic.

She removed the top portion from the key, saving it because she knew that would be important to finding out where the key had come from, placing the bottom in the machine. Four minutes later, she had an identical copy of the locker key, except now made of a firm plastic, ready for smuggling.

Placing both keys in her pocket and grabbing a roll of duct tape, Scarlett headed to her next destination: the gym.

O o o o o o o o o o o O

One of the best places to hide things is somewhere public and open, if it can be done well. The gym in the PITT had exposed steel girders and made a perfect hiding place for something small, metal and silver.

She put the duct tape around her wrist like a bracelet and shimmied up one of the climbing ropes. It wasn't difficult for her then to pull herself up to the beam the rope was attached to. Balancing easily, she walked out over the boxing ring, a place where people were unlikely to climb and counted off the exact coordinates of where she was.

After she memorized the location, Scarlett ripped a piece of the duct tape off and carefully placed it on the original metal key, and then taped the key to the interior of a girder. She could barely see it herself, when she was right on top of it; she felt confident it couldn't be seen from any other angle either.

As she made her way back down to the ground, she thought about how insane and paranoid this all was. She was actually starting to believe she was part of some big conspiracy. Her feet touched the floor again and she decided it didn't matter for now. She needed to treat the threat like it was real; someone she once cared about died over this, and he deserved that much.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Shana slipped the bloody sweatshirt into the incinerator pile and returned to her quarters to change and hide her plastic copy. She kept the keychain that she was given in the store and placed an old padlock key onto it, just to cover all bases. The plastic key got placed inside the cover of her cellphone's battery, which thankfully had a small amount of space just for that purpose.

She changed into a new set of clothes and headed over to Conrad's quarters. He was expecting her and as much as she wanted to start her research on where the key was from this very second, she didn't want to try and explain the whole situation to him, at least, not without some evidence.

The door opened with a quick swipe of the passkey she held; it was breaking regs technically to give her access to his quarters, but Duke felt the benefits far outweighed the risks.

After the door was safely closed, she slipped out of her clothes, leaving her just in a tank and panties and climbed into bed with Conrad. He didn't open his eyes when she joined him, yet curling tightly around her body whispering softly, "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, took longer than I thought, then got caught by a couple pieces of intel." She was glad they were spooning, it was easier to lie to him when she didn't have to look at his face.

"Workaholic." He admonished her gently, kissing the back of her neck.

"Like you are any different," she replied softly. She could feel him shrug slightly behind her, then his hand on her shoulder, wordlessly asking her to roll over so he could see her. She obliged and gave him a questioning look.

Conrad carefully brushed a lock of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear, "Are you doing ok?" His face was clearly worried.

"Yeah, of course." Just because she preferred to lie without having to see him, didn't mean she couldn't do it face to face.

He didn't believe her though, that much was clear. "I'm worried about you, honey. This has become such a mess and I feel like such a selfish ass asking you to continue to stay with me, all things considered."

Shana sighed deeply at his words, realizing what this was about. There was a pause before she answered, making sure she got the words right that she wanted to say. "I wouldn't have stayed through this if I didn't want to. I love you," she said plainly. "It may be against the rules, but it's crazy in a unit like ours to expect the same rules to apply." She paused again, "I wish I knew why they were just focusing on us so much. Jaye doesn't get the same harassment and they are much more open about their relationship."

Conrad nodded, listening to her carefully. "It's because of me, I'm sure." He then added with a grin, "And because they couldn't find any other faults in you to report on, even though we know that's not true."

Giving him a playful shove, she laughed. "Thanks a lot. But sometimes I wonder…" She trailed off, her mind going to what Memo had alleged and how her role as the seductress in the media played into that.

"…What?" He asked when she didn't finish. She just shrugged, not being able to put it into words for him right now. He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss, "You know I love you, right? No matter what happens."

She nodded with a smile, returning the kiss, "Yeah, I know. I love you too. We'll get through this." She gave him a reassuring look and then kissed him more thoroughly.

Their kisses deepened into more, and they made love in the early morning light. As she drifted off to sleep later, she felt tears welling in her eyes, unbidden; for herself, for Conrad, and for Geoff, who had given his life that night, with the faith that she would continue in his stead.


	5. V

When Scarlett awoke the next day, her head didn't feel much clearer. It was still muddied with thoughts of Memo/Geoff, Homeland Security and the key she now had hidden inside her cellphone. With a soft groan, she propelled herself out of bed. Duke was still sleeping; he didn't have to get up for hours yet since he worked second shift last night. She quietly got redressed and returned to her quarters to get ready for the day.

As she showered, her mind went back to the key and how she could figure out where it was from. There were databases on locker keys, for situations like this, but she didn't want to make it too obvious was she was doing or to leave too many electronic footprints to follow. She stepped out of the shower, getting into her uniform quickly, feeling slightly better now that she had truly gotten cleaned up.

She greeted people easily on her way to the Mess, grabbing a bagel and some yogurt for breakfast before retreating to her office. Scarlett knew that she wanted to keep this as low profile as possible, but she was going to have to use the database. She would just look up several keys in the hope of stalling or confusing anyone who might come looking.

It was surprisingly easy to find the location to the locker in question using the database. It was at a bus station about forty minutes from base. She leaned back in her chair, trying to decide if she wanted to chase after it right this moment; but a quick rap on her door interrupted her thoughts.

"Scarlett?" Hawk's voice projected through the door easily.

"Come in." Hawk did so, closing the door behind him. She stood up when he entered, but he rolled his eyes and motioned for her to sit back down. "How can I help you?"

Hawk cut straight to the point, "We are under enormous pressure here, Scarlett. I hope you realize that." She frowned slightly and nodded in response while he continued, "And this is not coming from me at all, just rumors that I've been hearing, but I wanted you to be aware. You deserve to be aware." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Some brass is talking about removing you from the team."

"What!" Scarlett was truly shocked. "For what reason?" She was trying to keep her temper under control, knowing that Hawk was doing her a favor as a friend by giving her the heads up.

Hawk continued to look unhappy, "It's the damn media. All this coverage of you…and Duke," he paused uncomfortably, "They're starting to make noise that either you are too 'distracted' to get things done, or you aren't qualified. That's their reason to the public as to why we haven't done more about the terrorist plots and preventing them." He looked at her, "I am so sorry, Shana. I don't know if I am going to be able to keep control of this." 

Scarlett fumed silently, and when she spoke, her voice was quiet and angry, "They're going to make me the scapegoat for this whole situation, aren't they." 

Hawk nodded, just slightly. "I'm doing all I can for you, but you need to be aware and kick it into overdrive, don't give them any ammunition to use against you."

"Yeah. Thank you, Clay. I appreciate you telling me, I know you are going out on a limb by doing so." With nothing else to say, Hawk nodded, stood, and walked out of her office.

A stream of obscenities flew from her mouth when the door was firmly closed. She couldn't believe this was happening. It was all spiraling out of control. She stood, needing to take a quick walk, maybe punch some things in the gym before she could go any further. 

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

On her way to the gym, she stopped by the rec room to grab something to drink. Shipwreck and Alpine were playing foosball and Bazooka and Wild Bill were sitting on one of the couches watching the news. 

"_In local news today, police are looking for a woman in connection with a shooting that occurred last night at a local Wal-Mart._" At that moment, a sketch, then a grainy surveillance photo were put on the screen. "_Police ask that anyone who has seen this woman please contact them at 555-9374…_" The words continued, but Scarlett no longer heard them.

They were looking for her. She cursed herself inwardly for not taking this seriously enough. They were going to try and pin Geoff's death on her, and they had an idea what she looked like. She startled when she was hit by a crumpled up napkin and looked at Wild Bill's smiling face.

"That almost looked like you, darling. You starting a murder spree?" He and Bazooka laughed and she forced herself to laugh along with them. 

She kept her voice light and playful with difficulty, as she responded, "I'm sorely tempted some days, but my life of crime hasn't gotten off the ground yet." She was morbidly aware of how true that statement was at this moment; she was going to be breaking a lot more laws in the near future.

Scarlett knew she needed to find out what was in that locker; it was the only way to have a chance of stopping what was happening not only to her, but to the country as a whole. She had one stop to make first, though.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o O

Conrad came out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist and Shana took a small moment to appreciate the form in front of her with a gentle smile on her face. Conrad walked over to her and kissed her, "To what do I owe this pleasure?" 

His lips felt so good to her and part of her just wanted to ignore everything else and just stay wrapped in his arms. With self-control and disappointment though, she stopped the kiss from going any further, looking into his blue eyes lovingly, "I just wanted to let you know I have a lead on some of what's been going on, and I am going to go check something out this afternoon."

A smile came to Duke's face, "That's great, who do you want on your team?" 

She shook her head, "I need to go alone, I don't want to tip my hand, if possible. It's just recon, no meetings." She saw the frown on his face as he listened and she kissed him softly again and continued, "I just wanted to let you know where I'd be…and that I love you. You know that, right?" She tried to keep the emotion from boiling over inside her, but her voice wavered, just slightly.

Conrad's frown deepened, "Of course I know it, what's wrong?" 

"Nothing. Just stress of everything." While true, he had no idea the full amount of stress. She wanted to tell him, but just couldn't take the time; she was working against the clock. "But never forget that, no matter what, ok?"

"Ok," he reassured her in a calming voice, touching her cheek gently. "I'm worried about you, Shana." His face was creased with that worry, trying to decipher what was going on with the woman in front of him.

She placed her hand over his on her cheek, then turned her head to kiss his palm. "Don't be. I think this is going to get better soon." He leaned over to kiss her again, which she allowed for a short moment, "But I have to get going. I love you." 

"I love you, too. I'm sending a team out after you if you don't check in, just so you know." His face was set and she knew it was pointless to argue with him, so she just nodded. "Be careful." 

"I will," she said with a forced grin. "Just a routine recon mission. Nothing I can't handle." She gave him one last kiss and then walked out of his suite. It was time to see what was in that locker.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o O

"Got her!" A nervous looking man with pinched features exclaimed joyfully, then paled and all happiness drained from his face.

"She's in custody?" The stocky, muscular man looked over at the other, now concerned with his expression.

"We're in trouble. She's a Joe." Nervous man managed to squeak out after a moment of composing himself. 

"What!" The bigger man stormed over and pushed the other away from the computer screen. He relaxed slightly when he read the information, puzzling his partner. "This is perfect."

The nervous man frowned, "How do you figure?" Then he took a closer look at who exactly had been named and he seemed relieved. "Ok, I understand now."

"Right. We need to find where this 'Scarlett' is. Get into her computer files, see if she's got anything there. I'm going to call her post, see if we can get lucky." The tall muscular man was all business now. Finally they had a break and they could take care of this leak. 

O o o o o o o o o o o o O

a/n: I was inspired to write another chap of this because of someone else's story in a different genre that put me in this frame of mind. 

Overall, things are picking up in the story, there are exciting times ahead.


End file.
